From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, February 17, 2026
Gafni slams court for making government explain failure to track secular studies in Haredi schools
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Degel HaTorah chairman Moshe Gafni slams the High Court of Justice after it orders the Finance and Education ministries to explain why they have not created a system for checking whether ultra-Orthodox schools are teaching mandatory core subjects.
The ministries, which must send a response to the court by April 15, are supposed to withhold funding from schools that don’t teach the subjects, including English and math.
“The hatred of the High Court justices toward the Haredi public and Haredi education is obvious to any sensible person,” says Gafni, arguing that the majority of students in the school networks run by the United Torah Judaism and Shas parties, “most of whom are girls, study all subjects… and are the ones who excel the most in exams.”
“There is no logic in issuing orders against the Haredi networks, which, as mentioned, are the best in the education system. There is only one professional explanation: hatred and jealousy. And that’s it,” he argues.
The Times of Israel Community.